investors hope the fiscal cliff in the u.s.a. can be avoided. >> let's get a closer look at friday's trading. with all that uncertainty in washington, traders were playing it cautious. in germany, the blue-chip dax broke a bit of a winning streak, only gaining fractionally. euro stoxx 50 was down on the day. in new york, trading is still under way. it is also not really doing a whole lot today. as for the euro against the dollar, it is above that key $1.30 level, trading for $ 1.3002. unemployment in the eurozone climbed to yet another record in october. and 11.7% of the working age population, about 19 million people, are without a job. in spain, that means one in every four people are out looking for work and a dependent on state aid. >> but it is not all bad news. ireland has managed to turn its major recession around and is now posting gains thanks to a lifeline from the e you. >> two years ago, ireland receive more than 67 billion euros from the eu bailout fund, and the money appears to have helped. the government was able t